The Global MarketWith globalisation on the one hand and the expansion of the European Union on the other, businesses find themselves addressing an increasingly international audience who speak a multitude of languages.Everywhere the use of the Internet has grown dramatically. In the European Union almost 253 million people (51% of the population) are online, (March 2007 EU statistics). In the world as a whole there are over 1.1 billion users (Internet World Stats, March 2007).Reaching these potential customers in their native tongue and within their cultural framework is now essential for many organisations.

The Online Publishing RevolutionThe intertwining of the traditional localisation industry and new media publishing has led to the development of a wide range of new activities. In a few years localisation has moved from mainly software translation and adaptation to general web content adaptation. Later, media convergence has meant that new solutions had to be found to localise written, audio and video content across different platforms without increasing costs. The advent of Web 2.0 is presenting new challenges that will require even faster and more effective solutions to allow instant access to user-generated content across different languages.

The Best Global Website AwardThe objective of the Best Global Website Award is to highlight the importance of localisation in the world of global digital communication. It is the industry that allows the Internet to succeed in its globalising mission and because of this critical role it is expected to deliver the highest quality standards. The BGWA offers official industry recognition for those companies and organisations that have shown excellence in localisation, by being innovative in their localisation and trans-creative approach, culturally sensitive and successful in their communication.

The recipient of the award will benefit from a raised profile and media exposure while the localisation industry will benefit from the award by using the winning site as a benchmark standard for other globalised websites to aim for.